Idris Elba has won his first professional kickboxing fight.
The 44-year-old actor has been undergoing gruelling training from former boxer Nigel Benn to become a professional grappler as part of a three-part documentary series for Discovery called ‘Idris Elba: Fighter’.
Now, the ‘Luther’ actor has taken to the ring in his first professional fight that was set up for the documentary, and he came out victorious in his battle against an unnamed opponent at London’s York Hall on Friday (28.10.16).
Footage of the fight was filmed by 58-year-old singer Madonna, who was seen cheering her friend on from the sidelines.
Posting a video of the fight on Instagram, the ‘Like a Virgin’ hitmaker wrote: "Idris Elba Smashes it at York Hall! (sic)"
The ‘4 Minutes’ singer sparked rumours she had begun romancing the handsome actor over the weekend after she shared a number of posts featuring the star – who DJed on her ‘Rebel Heart’ tour in Germany last year – on her Snapchat account.
And the pair were said to have flaunted their affection at M restaurant after the fight, where they arrived at 3am.
A source said: "They were all over each other. There was nothing subtle about it, no attempt to hide. It was very blatant.
"They were at the party for about an hour, they would dance, go off to smooch, then mingle a bit more. They only had eyes for each other. That seemed very, very clear."
‘The Wire’ actor originally took up the sport in order to stay in shape, but said previously it had always been his "dream" to have a real fight.
He said: "It has been my dream to fight in a ring properly. It is not fake, I might get hurt but ultimately I have trained for it and I like to fight."
During training, the ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ star bust his nose a "couple of times" but hoped his nasal injuries weren’t too noticeable as he needs to stay looking his best for his big screen roles.
He added: "I’ve busted my nose a couple of times but hopefully it doesn’t show. Keeping fit is important to me as part of my work and I always used to train back in the day as just a kickboxer before I was acting and now I am on this massive journey."
Idris Elba wins kickboxing fight
